Elephants have been revered in Thailand for nearly 4,000 years: They have carried kings into war and earned their keep by performing hard labor, such as hauling timber. But with mechanization, elephants and their mahouts, or owners, have become less valuable. Many have ended up in dangerous urban environments, the mahouts eking out a living by having their elephants perform tricks in exchange for tips. Anantara—in collaboration with the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre—decided to change that, creating a resort that provides a three-day interactive elephant experience for guests, with proceeds benefiting the center. Today, 30 elephants and their mahout families live at Anantara. From the chic dining room, you can gaze out across tropical fields and misty riverbanks and watch the elephants graze and bathe. The resort provides living expenses for the mahout families, medical care, and even elephant life insurance (to support the family in case of an animal's death). Anantara is also helping mahouts to develop new skills so future generations have more options. Mahout wives, now trained in traditional silk weaving, sell their wares to visitors. The resort even sponsors research beyond tourism, using the elephants in therapy for autistic children in hopes of creating more jobs for the elephants and their mahouts (66-5378-4084; doubles, $400–$665).